Google will begin to disable long content display for media publishers with which it has not reached an agreement

This Thursday, Google announced that it will begin to “disable the display of longer pieces of content” for media publishers with whom it has not yet reached an agreement on the copyright directive in Portugal.

This information appears in a post published on the Google Portugal blog regarding an update on the technology’s compliance with the European Copyright Directive in Portugal (EUCD).

“With 11 days left before this legal provision goes into effect, we will begin disabling the display of longer pieces of content for publishers with whom we have not reached an agreement to ensure compliance with the law,” it said. .

“Since then, our team has been working diligently to contact publishers of eligible press publications in Portugal to enter into agreements (through the Extended News Preview (ENP) program) with Google or obtain their consent to use its protected content online,” Google says Portugal.

“We have contacted publishers of suitable press publications through individual or collective negotiations and several rounds of work using our scale solution tool and are pleased to announce that we have agreements with a wide group of publishers of all sizes throughout Portugal,” continues the technology, thanking the editors. industry associations and government agencies “for positive and constructive conversations.”

The technology company reminds that “the EUCD specific transposition provision for Portugal provides for criminal sanctions if information society service providers use content beyond “very short excerpts” without sufficient authorization.”

Given this, “if we are unable to reach an agreement with individual publishers by the time the law takes effect, we will have to limit the display of longer pieces of content in Google Search and related products to avoid putting our employees at risk.” “Risk of criminal prosecution,” explains the technologist.

However, “we will continue to contact press editors in Portugal to obtain their permission.”

Google Portugal emphasizes that publishers “can accept or consent to the proposed ENP at any time” and that “links to news content and headlines will remain, provided that publishers choose not to wish to appear in searches.”

This disclosure “complements our ongoing work to support journalists and student journalists and contributes to the Portuguese news ecosystem,” he states, noting that “Google is one of the largest financial backers of journalism worldwide.”

Google Portugal says it believes that “a thriving news ecosystem is essential for a functioning democracy,” citing as an example its support for the media, from “the launch of News Showcase (Journalistic Highlights) with 50 local publications to training, over the past seven years 2,500 journalists and student journalists in Portugal were introduced to new tools and technologies for newsrooms.”

In addition, “we are also proud to have supported the creation of the Aveiro Media Competence Center to promote the digital transformation and sustainability of European journalistic organizations” and through the Digital News Innovation Fund “we have funded almost eight million euros for news innovation projects.” in Portugal, both for local and large press publishers,” he lists.

According to the European Copyright Directive, “to date we have signed agreements covering more than 1,500 publications in 15 countries and continue our efforts as national laws come into force.”

Google Portugal further states that “all proposals to Portuguese publishers will be based on objective and consistent criteria that respect existing copyright laws and guidelines, including the frequency of display of the news website and the income generated from advertising coming from pages that also display excerpts from the news.”